Striking through the politicised warnings and potentially hollow gestures, a new study has found that COVID-19 vaccines could remain out of reach until at least 2022 for nearly one- fifth of the global population – despite months of pleas and appeals to ensure their widespread global distribution. The study, published in The BMJ, is the […] Continue reading ->
As the dust began to settle in June 2009 in the aftermath of the global recession, 81 million young people found themselves out of work, as the youth unemployment rate rose to 13%. But unemployment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic – with 1 in 6 young people worldwide having already lost their job […] Continue reading ->
Ibadan, Nigeria. Ambrose Dlamini, eSwatini’s Prime Minister, has become the first world leader to die after testing positive for COVID-19. His death sends a clear and chilling message across Africa: the worst days of the pandemic are not behind us. Dlamini passed away on Sunday 13 December in South Africa, where he was receiving treatment […] Continue reading ->
Sixty different local authorities in England have reported around 1,000 infections caused by a new COVID-19 variant. The variant is not thought to have an impact on disease severity or mortality, or on the efficacy of a vaccine. It has been reported to WHO. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said in Parliament today: “We have identified […] Continue reading ->
WHO’s Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday issued yet another plea to leaders of rich countries to “honor their pledges” to fund COVID-19 vaccines sufficient to immunize the highest risk groups across the world. He spoke a day after South African officials raised the spectre that the world was heading towards a state […] Continue reading ->
United States Food and Drug Agency Commissioner Stephen Hahn Friday said that the agency will “rapidly work toward the finalization and issuance of an emergency use authorization” for the cutting edge Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine – following a vote by an independent FDA expert panel on Thursday recommending that the vaccine be approved. FDA Commissioner @SteveFDA […] Continue reading ->
The NCD Alliance has called the millions of avoidable deaths due to noncommunicable disease (NCDs) a “collective failure”, as new WHO data shows NCDs now constitute 7 of the top 10 causes of death globally, up from 4 of 10 top causes of death in 2000. According to WHO’s new Global Health Estimates released Wednesday, […] Continue reading ->
London. The cameras were focused on the face of 90 year-old Margaret Keenan, the first UK citizen to receive the newly approved Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday at University Hospital in the city of Coventry. After her jab, she passed through a corridor of applauding nurses. Behind her mask was the glint of a smile […] Continue reading ->
The WHO Foundation has appointed a senior pharma executive as CEO of the flagship WHO Foundation, suggesting it will make a big push to secure donations from the broader private sector as the curtain closes on a precarious budget year. But speaking at a press briefing on Monday, the WHO DG commented on the recruitment […] Continue reading ->
Information about COVID-19 has been viewed online more than 270 billion times globally since February, with a large proportion deliberately misleading, misinforming, or lying to readers. But a new ‘infodemic’ response alliance, launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa, is hoped to improve scientific literacy among the general public, as countries […] Continue reading ->